The Window to the Universe

December-January Gardening Calander

December 2012
3rd-6th Barren Period. Kill Plant Pests.
7th-8th Plant Root Crops, Fine For Sowing Grains, Hay, And Forage Crops. Plant Flowers.
9th-11th Plant Carrots, Beets, Onions, Turnips, Irish Potatoes And Other Root Crops, In The South. Lettuce, Cabbage, Collards, And Other Leafy Vegetables Will Do Well. Start Seedbeds. Good Days For Transplanting.
12th-13th Do No Planting.
14th-16th Plant Sweet Corn, Beans, Peppers And Other Aboveground Crops, Where Climate Is Suitable.
17th-19th Kill Weeds, Briars And Other Plant Pests, Poor For Planting.
20th-21st Plant Peppers, Sweet Corn, Tomatoes And Other Aboveground Crops, In Southern Florida, California, And Texas. Extra Good For Cucumbers, Peas, Cantaloupes, And Other Vine Crops.
22nd-23rd A Poor Time To Plant.
24th-25th Plant Beans, Peppers, Cucumbers, Melons And Other Aboveground Crops, Where Climate Is Suitable.
26th-27th Seeds Planted Now Will Rot.
28th-29th Plant Beets, Onions, Turnips And Other Root Crops, Where Climate Allows. Plant Seedbeds And Flower Gardens. Good For Transplanting.
30th-31st A Most Barren Period. Kill Plant Pests And Do General Farm Work.

January 2013
1st-3rd A Barren Time. Best For Killing Weeds, Briars, Poison Ivy, And Other Plant Pests. Clear Woodlots And Fencerows.
4th-5th Favorable Days For Planting Root Crops. Fine For Sowing Grains, Hay, And Forage Crops. Plant Flowers.
6th-7th Plant Carrots, Turnips, Onions, Beets, Irish Potatoes, And Other Root Crops In The South. Lettuce, Cabbage, Collards And Other Leafy Vegetables Will Do Well. Start Seedbeds. Good Days For Transplanting.
8th-9th Seeds Planted Now Will Grow Poorly And Yield Little.
10th-11th Favorable Planting Days: First Day Good For Planting Root Crops. Second Day Good For Aboveground Crops Such As Sweet Corn, Beans, And Peppers.
12th-13th Good Time To Kill Plant Pests Or Do Plowing. Poor For Planting.
14th-16th Fine For Planting Any Aboveground Crop Where The Climate Permits. Extra Good For Peppers, Tomatoes, Peas, And Other Vine Crops.
17th-18th Barren Days. Do No Planting.
19th-21st Fine For Planting Beans, Peppers, Cucumbers, Melons, And Other Aboveground Crop Where Climate Is Suitable.
22nd-23rd Poor Days For Planting. Seeds Tend To Rot In Ground.
24th-26th Favorable Planting Days: First Two Days Are Best For Planting Aboveground Crops. Especially Good For Peas, Beans, Cucumber, And Squash. Last Day Is A Most Fruitful Time To Plant Beets, Carrots, Onions, And Other Hardy Root Crops. Also Good For Transplanting.
27th-30th A Barren Time. Best For Killing Weeds, Briars, Poison Ivy, And Other Plant Pests. Clear Woodlots And Fencerows.
31st Favorable Day For Planting Root Crops. Fine For Sowing Grains, Hay, And Forage Crops. Plant Flowers.

ScienceDaily

ScienceDaily:   "will the message we need to hear be coming from the leaves,coming from the leaves"

"As societies grow decadent, the language grows decadent, too. Words are used to disguise, not to illuminate, action: You liberate a city by destroying it. Words are used to confuse, so that at election time people will solemnly vote against their own interests."
—Gore Vidal, Imperial America, 2004

Erie Resemblance to atomic bomb.

Jellyfish-Like Organisms Shut Down California Power Plant
By Alexandra Ludka | ABC News – 8 hrs ago
Email
18
Print
RELATED CONTENT

Jellyfish-Like Organisms Shut Down …
                                                                                                 Image credit: Getty Images
The workers of the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant received a very slimy surprise this week when they discovered hoards of jellyfish-like creatures clinging to the structure, leading to the shutdown of the plant.
The organisms, called salp, are small sea creatures with a consistency  similar to jellyfish.
The influx of salp was discovered as part of the plant's routine monitoring system, according to Tom Cuddy, the senior manager of external and nuclear communications for the plant's operator, Pacific Gas & Electric.
"We then made the conservative decision to ramp down the affected unit to 20 percent and continued to monitor the situation," Cuddy said. "When the problem continued, we made another conservative decision that it would be safest to curtail the power of the unit."
The salp were clogging the traveling screens in the intake structure, which are meant to keep marine life out and to keep the unit cool.
"Safety is the highest priority," Cuddy said. "We will not restart the unit until the salp moves on and conditions improve. No priority is more important than the safe operation of our facility."
The plant consists of two units. Unit 1 was shut down previously because of refueling and maintenance work and will not be functional for several weeks. Now that Unit 2 has been shut down because of the influx of salp, the plant has ceased all production.
Even with the Diablo Canyon plant out of commission, PG&E has pledged to continue production using other sources of power so that customers are unaffected by the closure.
"We've had salp cling to the intake structure before, but nothing to this extent," Cuddy said.
The plant's strategy? Simply wait until the salp move on and resume production once the filters are clear.

Farmer's Almanac

28th-30th Grub Out Weeds, Briars, And Other Plant Pests.

May 2012
1st-2nd A Barren Period. Good For Killing Plant Pests, Cultivating, Or Taking A Short Vacation.
3rd-4th Excellent Time For Planting Corn, Beans, Peppers, And Other Aboveground Crops. Favorable For Sowing Hay, Fodder Crops, And Grains. Plant Flowers.
5th-7th Plant Carrots, Beets, Onions, Turnips, And Other Root Crops At This Time. Cabbage, Lettuce, And Other Leafy Vegetables Will Do Well. Planting Seedbeds. Good For Transplanting.
8th-9th Do No Planting.
10th-12th Plant Late Beets, Potatoes, Onions, Carrots, And Other Root Crops.
13th-14th Kill Plant Pests On These Barren Days.
15th-16th Favorable Time For Planting Late Root Crops. Also Good For Vine Crops That Can Be Planted Now. Set Strawberry Plants. Good Days For Transplanting.
17th-18th Poor Planting, Fine For Cultivating Or Spraying.
19th-20th Favorable Planting Days: First Day For Root Crops. Good Day For Transplanting. Last Day For Beans, Corn, Cotton, Tomatoes, Peppers, And Other Aboveground Crops.
21st-22nd Any Seed Planted Now Will Tend To Rot.
23rd-24th Most Favorable For Planting Corn, Cotton, Okra, Beans, Peppers, Eggplant, And Other Aboveground Crops. Plant Seedbeds And Flower Gardens.
25th-29th A Barren Period. Good For Killing Plant Pests, Cultivating, Or Taking A Short Vacation.
30th-31st Excellent Time For Planting Corn, Beans, Peppers, And Other Aboveground Crops. Favorable For Sowing Hay, Fodder Crops, And Grains. Good For Planting Flowers.

Well said Greg!

Chairman Bernanke and Sheila Bair are talking about the cycle of banks and lending and balance sheets and hiring and how lending is contingent on small business balance sheets. Banks don’t want to lead for fear the business will not be there tomorrow. Small businesses cannot grow because they don’t have the cash to invest in their business.  Hence nothing is being done. Growth is not happening.  Commericial real estate is depressed. Look at your local strip mall for the clues.

It is my thought that the focus should now be squarely on the larger corporations who have had access to capital markets, whose balance sheets are flush with cash, who have done the employee cutting which has had a trickle down effect on main street.  It is time for them, to start to take some of the cash and hire again. 

Employees are cheap(er). Efficiency earning growth to higher stock prices are over.  Earnings will not come from the expense side but from the revenue side.  Growth has to come from growth in the economy, not cost cutting.  

Jobs stimulate spending.  Spending stimulates more spending.  Look to create jobs. Creating jobs will ease the burden on over-worked employees and start the trickle up that ends on main street.  Then the small businesses can start to find stimulus from the banks again.

Stop the freebies from the government.  Stop the “save everything/everyone mentality” that was required back then in 2008-2010, but not needed now.   Focus on solving the problems by using the cash on the balance sheets of those who have made it through - especially if those gains were from the government.  

Jamie Diamond from JP Morgan/Chase was on CNBC yesterday talking about paying out a dividend with all the cash they have accumulated - once the bank stress test is done that is.  Meredith Whitney, the ”Banking Analyst Guru”, suggested investing in banks overseas instead. 

Great (sarcastic “great”).  Take free money from the government, take guarantees on housing  and loans, and take that free money and give it to the people who likely have jobs in the form of a stock dividend.  Alternatively, if he were to do what Meredith Whitney suggests, he should use it to hire people outside the USA.  What will that do in the US other than raise the stock price possibly and provide a small stimulus from those stockholders who may spend the dividend (the dividend is likely to reinvested in stock anyway)? If it is used to buy an overseas financial institution, that is even worse.  Pay those workers with US free money. No wonder Meredith Whitney thinks municipalities will default on debt at an alarming rate. No jobs here, means no tax base, means no money to pay the bondholders. 

Mr Diamond, do the right thing and take the cash you have been given for FREE in the USA, and look to hire someone in the USA  instead who can somehow, someway grow your business.  I know… what job is there?

Maybe there is that extra teller at your branches. Maybe it is opening all day Saturday (with new workers involved).  Maybe it is increasing budgets instead of cutting budgets, and asking managers to put the extra money to work and while they are doing it, prove they used it to increase the bottom line of their department.  Maybe it is a technology product.  Maybe it is hiring the people to service the people who want a mortgage work-out so they can feel a little more better and stay in there house.

Will it maximize shareholder wealth?  Who knows.  If the economy grows and jobs are added, you can argue that burdens can be lifted, housing can be absorbed by new workers who save up and buy that house, and in the process the economy and the bank earnings rise in the process. Banks can start to make loans (like they are supposed to do) instead of buying US government bonds.

As long as the US focuses on saving the world, the opportunity of creating business and earnings will be lost.  Small businesses need big business stimulus to get them out of the rut.  IMHO.